Highways and Byways

18 April, 2023 - Graham K. Bushe

Mick had warned us that the league was starting with the toughest race. I’m hoping that was an understatement given how tough it was!
My first attempt tackling Lug from this direction and I reckoned it would be tough going. When I first looked at the map, I was drawn to the lower fireroad which looked more direct, but as the days approached, I took a closer look at all the contour lines to the summit. With a week to go, I took a trip up for a recce. I followed the fire road up, and to the right. As I came around the switchback I had the brainwave of taking the short cut on race day. Ha, ha, sorted! Lug was covered in a heavy mist, which tested the nav skills. On the descent, I fancied a look at the fireroad from below Carrawaystick rather than the sleepers. Plans were forming. I didn’t get a chance to look at the ridge, but sure I had run it last year, albeit in the opposite direction on a fine dry day. But sure, it’d be grand, yeah?
Race day came, and with it the build up of excitement. Passing Djouce in a heavy mist, the morning was cold. I had my extra layers on ready. Driving down towards Glenmalure, the sun was out, and I was questioning my wardrobe choice. Then as I got to the parking area, once again I was in a thick mist. Mick and crew were all in place and already had everything set up for reg. I parked and signed in. I took a short run up towards Croaghanmoira just past the junction. We were chauffeured to the start line in comfort, and as I stood at the barrier chatting with fellow runners, I once again noticed the weather had picked up again and looked like it was to continue. In a panic, I dashed into the woods and removed a layer (thankfully), but for some silly reason I still opted to keep my light jacket on.
Mick welcomed us all and after the briefing, sent us on our way. Contrary to what Liam K said, to me it felt like everyone set off from the start. At the junction, I saw the two Liams depart the group which rose a few cheers. Meanwhile, I waited for my opportunity to cut the corner above. I flipped my cap around, as already the sun was beating down. Just a little bit more, “I’ll show them” but obviously everyone else had the same idea! Sorry Peter…, nearly everyone else. I was just a bit behind Paul Mahon when suddenly he dropped from sight into a hole or something. I decide to look for a different line and fell anyway! I then stopped to remove my jacket. I had only lost a couple of seconds really, and it was still early days… I passed a couple of runners and then heard footsteps behind. It was Peter, who had opted to “go round” earlier. Within minutes he was gone off ahead! As we get out onto Lug and the serious climb begins, I see someone over to the left. It turns out to be Liam V, but no sign of Liam K! Near the top, I grab a handful of snow and smudge it all over my cap to cool me down. I get to the cairn just behind Andy K and before Liam V. At last, a bit of a reprieve from all that climbing. I take a slightly straighter line keeping close to the edge, with Liam close behind, then I get a feeling that he’s not there. I assume he’s gone further right, but I dare not look around, so I keep Andy in my sights. As we climb Corrigasleggaun I’m expecting Liam to pop out in front any second. Onwards to Carrawaystick. I stepped in close to hop up onto one of the peat banks, and for a split second got sucked down. In a flash Liam swooped by as I clambered up. The descent was very wet as I tried to pick the best route. Suddenly my heels shot out in front, and I was on my back, instantly soaked, but for those couple of seconds, was travelling faster than I had been running! I eventually got my feet under me again. I opted for the familiarity of the boardwalk and saw Liam veering off to take the fireroad, with Andy in hot pursuit! Luckily, the sun had done a nice job on drying a lot of the sleepers, however the shaded areas were still a bit dodge! At last, onto the Wicklow Way, and in the distance, I could see another runner. I pushed on. I caught Becky on the road just before the CP. No sign of Liam. Checked in and out in a flash. 10 seconds later, Becky breezed past as if out for a leisurely jog while I hauled myself up to the saddle. A casual glance back and there was Liam! Oh no! Pressure on again! My memory of the ridge was ALL WRONG! When I ran it last year, I didn’t remember any slope. I thought it was flat! To add to the misery, Becky was disappearing ahead fast, Liam was gaining, and Croaghanmoira appeared on the left. Looking about twice the height of Lug!! Slog, slog, jog… slog, slog, jog, was repeated over and over. I passed Maike. On the final climb, I saw some of the battle for 3/4/5. Adrian and Brian were already finished. A bit from the turn at the summit I met Becky and she shouted “Race is on!” as she passed. I thought YEAH! And clambered to the cairn, quick turn and ready for the final descent. Only Becky hadn’t waited for this “Race” She was nowhere to be seen! I charged (relatively speaking) down the trail, but no sigh whatsoever. I caught up on Joe Lalor just before the gate.
What a wonderful sight. A gang of finishers sat on the bank, exchanging war stories. Plans that worked, ones that didn’t. Mick handed me a can of 7-up which was just the ticket. What a super spread of goodies to behold!
A huge thanks to Mick and his super crew! As always, he put a huge amount of effort into getting this race on the calendar and to run it so smoothly. Looking forward to it again next year.

OW WHY OW WHY

17 April, 2023 - liam kenny

First timer on the reports, filling my duty to ensure this route i took gets banished,

first of all thank you to Mick and his crew as always Mick's standards are top class when it comes to the RD role, form organising lifts to having the grub at the end, your trend will be hard followed for my own RD role on Fraughan Rock,

Lined up and ready for the brief and the inner thoughts of will I stick to the recce I did last week or follow the pack, race starts no one setting off everyone watching and waiting for the moves we get to the fire road where heads right im running head down eyes left and right but I see Liam v heading straight no one else seems to think this is a viable option, take a glimpse back and see another man tipping along, by then I knew this just got real, as I crossed the river before the wooded section the ground was torture I new I was in for a suffer fest, new I made a drastic error here, I could catch a glimpse of Liam every now and then that man is just different on the climbs, then the dishearting view of all the rest of the pack coming out of the fire road up ahead and me with a ignorent climb ahead to catch them, soul destroying to say the least but just had to get on with it, eventually got to the summit all was lost here( well i doubt i would of finished any better if i had of stayed on fire road) caught up with a few others and made it back,

again hats off to Mick and well done to every runner out there on the hills

Ice & Fire

17 April, 2023 - Steven Pettigrew

I've been feeling very off this week. Legs just not feeling strong at all. The standard easy run around Lugnagun was tough this week with my heart bursting from my chest. Good reason to keep it steady today and try not to blow up after 30 mins.

The heat out there was madness. A killer. Praying for rain. I hate the heat. Lads were stripped to the waist once we crossed Ow so I knew I wasn’t the only one suffering. Up and around Lug there was still a good bit of snow which was bizarre to see but I grabbed some handfuls of it and stuck it on my neck and on my chest using the vest to hold it in place. I think I have iceburn but I don’t really care right now.

Navigation and route choice was perfect for the first 80% I felt I was making better decisions than some and improving my position without pushing too hard. After I got to the top of Lug and touched the cairn, I noticed some runners were running towards me. They must have come from the gully. I marked it down as a little nav win. On I went towards Corrigasleggaun. I stuck with Patrick Ward for a few k. Easy enough running as this was the section I dreaded the most with the conditions making it more or less impossible to stay upright. I fell here last week and was bleeding all over the shop. No harm in saving energy until I hit the boardwalk. This heat is brutal. I think I have sunburn but I don’t really care right now.

The ridge was the only bit I didn't recce and thought it was going to be really simple. No recce needed I thought. Amateur mistake. If this was the start of the race it probably would have been fine when I still had my head but at this stage I’m in the height of it. Couldn't figure out how to get onto the field. Ended up taking a wrong turn and losing a load of positions. Clubmate Liam Óg was running up the wrong hill as if it was the finish line. “LIAM! WRONG WAY”. He can’t hear me. He’s absolutely bombing it up that hill. Why has he chosen this part of the route to run so hard? “LIAM”. He’s gone. He’ll come back eventually I hope. I stuck with Imogen for a few k and started following the map to try avoid more messin’. Croaghanmoira looks like Carrauntoohil from here. Nearly done now so just grind it out. After the last cairn I somehow missed another turn and took the scenic route to the finish and dropped about 8 places. I should have followed Imogen.

Happy enough with my first race of this genre. These are the type of races I’ve wanted to focus on more and it was as good as I hoped. I was happy enough with how I paced it and learned a lot of lessons.

For a route so varied, spread out and at times random, it always felt very well controlled and organised by Mick and the team of volunteers. Very well done.

Congrats to Adrian and Becky.

Leinster championships Round 1

16 April, 2023 - Brian Furey

A good day out in the hills in Wicklow. Carpooled with Peter , Orla and Andy. Peter driving thanks Peter. Bright sunny days quite heavy(close) at the start. Alot of recent rain and even snow left the ground very wet but the sub shone brightly and the feel of Spring/early summer is in the air.

I remember this race 10 years ago. Think I ran it off the Harveys map that day. Alot more familiar with these hills now. East West maps help now too. Alot more details on them.

From the start it was myself out front with Adrian and Bernard. We took the shortcut to cut the switch back. I ended up with the worst line here! My own fault.. Lost 20 second on Adrian and Bernard. Anyways early days. I got back into 2nd going further up the fire road then caught Adrian just before lug summit. Touched the Lug trigger in first with Adrian right behind me and Bernard not far off but still early days. Clear day. Flew off down towards corrigaslegaun. Just coming down the path before climb before corrigaslegaun Adrian caught me around here. He was descending better
We battled it out up Corrigaslegaun then Adrian took the lead half way down to carraystick. Really mucky wet path down to the forest. Down the boardwalks onto the road past the checkpoint before fananerin ridge. Hot at this stage. I took some water from small stream and put it over my Head. Had run out for my bottles at this stage but not far from finish.
Up to the ridge. Really wet running across the ridge line. Couldn't get much proper running on it. Could see Adrian but not make much headway. I had forgotten the last hill before Croaghan Moira. It is but a bump but with the wetness of the bog, made it a little more difficult. Over that, quick glance right to see the path which will be the run down to the finish. It's there! Run up Croaghan. It's quicker than expected. Touch the cairn then back down. Paul and Peter pass by battling it out for 3rd ,and 4th.

Adrian 1st, I was 2nd. Peter 3rd.
Good day out. Some nice treats afterwards to stave off the dehydration and refuel. Thanks Mick and volunteers for the excellent race.

The weekend warriors

16 April, 2023 - Peter O'Farrell

The day started well, the car was loaded with 4 runners and the chats were mighty and varied, it could have been even better but alas for us Maike was on the early start.
Some of the chats centred on the recces and the Wicklow Round and the recces and all this wholesome goodness led me to in believing that going a longer way to (nearly) everyone else on the first shortcut was a good idea, as in it would be like a live recce. Madness. It wasn't. Some huffing and puffing eventually found me settled into what turned out to be a great ding dong battle with Becky, Paul, Alan, Michael and the unexpected dead heat on the flank of Lug. I could just about see Bernard in the distance and Brian and Adrian were goneski.
Having started the day dressed for a cold mountain I was liable to blow a gasket here so had to stop and remove a layer. More huffing and puffing found us hitting the summit Cairn at about the hour mark, plus or minus a couple of minutes depending on position and with me sucking on a snowball to keep hydrated and cool down.
The next section was funtime, and Alan and Michael were all on the fun as both passed Becky, Paul and myself along here. The sleepers were indeed slippy in patches and then Michael led Alan and myself on a beautiful line through the forest shortcut onto road. There were no thoughts here of taking the road around this time!
To the checkpoint at the Fananerin ridge and my early wardrobe readjustment had included stuffing my race number into an awkward zipped pocket. I know this as I wasn't let proceed without producing it - and rightly so :)
More steep climbing and then the Fananerin ridge itself. In a nice piece of symmetry the last time I was up here I was recceing for potential route options for the Annacurra adventure race - Mick's home village. Some more toing and froing here found a resurgent Paul Mahon passing Michael, Alan and myself and moving into what I believed was 4th. First Adrian whizzed past, then Brian gave a good version of whizzing also.
Paul wasn't too far ahead and I was keeping a looksee for Bernard and then the summit appeared. This was both a little confusing and a little exciting. I like Paul and was perfectly content to run alongside him for 4th, or 5th but with 3rd now an option all of a sudden it was game on, again!
After a good battle youth finally prevailed :)
The spread of treats after was only matched by the good natured happy banter. All credit goes to Mick and his fine band of volunteers for putting on such a great race and I must report that the most popular finisher was 100% Michael Dowling, with his personal support crew. A beautiful sight.
Well done to the winners, who on the day numbered all of us. Savage and brilliant, as Mick says may it not lay idle for another decade.

Aughavannagh sun, snow and slop

16 April, 2023 - Adrian Hennessy

My recce for this race consisted of reading race reports stretching back to 2000 and pouring over Strava files and Google Maps. In his report back in 2000, Douglas Barry noted that this was the longest race in the IMRA calendar. Oh, how things have changed. Our obsession with going long has peppered the calendar with long trail races, marathons, and ultras. Choice is nice but it’s great that there is still a place for races like this in the calendar. Some open mountain, different route choices, boggy conditions, steep climbs, and fast descents.

The last running of the race was back in 2013 when Brian Furey took the spoils – spoiler alert, we wouldn’t be as quick today, those ultras must be killing our speed. That or age. All the talk at the start was about what shortcuts were worth opting for, but there was little consensus to be found. Always a good sign. A healthy bunch of early starters got away at 10am, the rest of us set off at 11am. Many familiar faces in the line-up, it felt like rolling back the years. Very few of the young bucks that have been mopping up the podiums in the last couple of years….just maybe there was a chance for the old lads today.
Brian Furey and myself set the pace on the first fireroad climb. The 2 Liams took the low road, with the rest of us taking the high road. I suggested to Brian that we cut the first hairpin, he agreed and so did nearly everyone else, except Peter O’Farrell who decided to act as the control in our experiment, and then later confirming that the shortcut is indeed a shortcut as he lost a few seconds. And so, on we went up the endless fireroad. Lug loomed up ahead, with patches of snow still visible on the southern slopes despite the warm sunshine. By the time we hit the open mountain I had a little lead over Brian with Bernard not far behind. That wouldn’t last long as Brian reeled me back in when we got to the steeper stuff. My power hiking is a bit lacking these days. We touched the trig about 30 seconds apart and the race was on.

The morning mist had cleared so picking out the right ridge wasn’t going to be a problem. Corrigasleggaun was clearly visible over to our right as we swapped positions on the way across. A better line here, a faster climb there. It was coming down Carrawaystick that I pulled out a minute or two on Brian, somehow finding a bit more crucial grip as we slopped through the bog and then down the treacherous boardwalks. As I hit the fireroad I couldn’t see him, but I knew he wouldn’t be far behind. I took the firebreak shortcut to the road, which turned out to be the worst kept secret of the day as so did almost everyone else, apart from a few that we won’t mention.

Through the checkpoint just off Military Road and a wave for the volunteers, then up to Faranerin saddle and my first chance to check the gap back to Brian. 3 minutes I reckoned. Would it be enough? He was probably climbing better than me. Faranerin should be a very runnable climb, but not with a combination of tired legs and constant slop. Brian was gaining. A final push up to Croaghanmoira, an out and back which seems like it’s thrown in by a sadist just to finish off any last once of energy left. I knew if I got to the top first that I’d get the win, barring disaster. Touch the cairn and back down the same way. Brian gave me a magnanimous clap as I passed him, he’d given it a good go. Behind him the race for 3rd was hotting up. A shirtless Paul Mahon had a small gap on Peter O’Farrell who was closely followed by Alan Ayling, and local Michael Dowling was not far behind him. It was going to be close for third. I was able to enjoy the last descent, the final test being a climb over the gate and across the road. The thought of the relentless slagging from Paul Mahon was enough to drive Peter to push on for 3rd, but Mahon didn’t make it easy for him. The ever-consistent and prolific Becky Quinn took the women’s race followed by Imogen McGuinness and Orla McEvoy.

The best part of the day was the spread put on by Mick Hanney and the volunteers at the finish line. Any calories that were lost up the mountain were more than replaced. Huge thanks to Mick for bringing this fine race back to life and to the volunteers for allowing it to happen. The chance for the old lads to revisit some past glories was just the icing on the cake, or the chocolate on the brownie.